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Lighten Up! Don’t Be an April Foolish Employer
She was the most friendly, beaming, gregarious receptionist I’d ever met. Judy had no idea who I was, or what the nature of my appointment was, but she treated me as if I was the King of Siam. As I sat in the waiting area, it was hard to look past the three handsome Best Place to Work in Denver hall of fame plaques awarded by the Denver Business Journal since 2003.
“What makes this the best place to work in all of Denver?” I asked Judy.
“It’s the funnest (sic) job in the world. We’re always pulling pranks on each other so you never know what’s going to happen. Not too long ago they brought in a new Cappuccino machine in the break room. Someone taped a sign on it that said “Voice Activated.” Then we tried desperately not to bust a gut as unsuspecting employees actually spoke into the machine. When nothing happened, some thought it was malfunctioning and started screaming at it. They didn’t even stop to notice there wasn’t any kind of a microphone. It’s amazing what you can get people to do with a Post-it Note and a Sharpie. You can’t buy that kind of entertainment anywhere!”
At this point, I started to laugh. “Tell me more.”
“From the top down, most of us believe that April Fools’ Day should be a national holiday, and everyone is a perpetrator and a victim. A couple of years ago we completely filled our boss’s car with those Styrofoam packing peanuts. That was a payback for a crank call he made and a bogus memo he sent to all employees. And this doesn’t even scratch the surface!”
“WOW! You take your fun pretty seriously!” I said.
She went on to give a half dozen other reasons why this was the best place to work in Denver; each reason backed by enthusiastic examples. She not only answers the phones and greets clients and vendors, Judy is the ultimate ambassador for her company.
“How long have you worked here?” I asked.
“Fifteen years and counting. I love it!”
What’s perhaps most intriguing is that Judy isn’t working at a radio station or some other kind of environment you’d expect to be a haven for pranksters and laughter. She’s the face of EKS&H, a 375-person and rapidly-growing accounting firm. What’s more shocking is that the day Judy and her associates believe should be declared a national holiday, April Fools, comes at the pinnacle of tax season; unquestionably the most chaotic and stressful time of the year for accounting firms.
With amenities that include a state-of-the-art workout facility, a break room that is retro-fitted like a 50’s malt shop and features complimentary soft drinks and snacks, and the Harry Potter room -- a keypad-coded secure area exclusively for new mothers, EKS&H has a long list of reasons it is being recognized by their employees as the best place to work in the community. But it takes more than just great amenities to attract a sharp young professional, get her to go all in every single day, and keep her in her job for fifteen years… and counting.
Bob Hottman (the ‘H’ in EKS&H) personally meets with each new hire to welcome them and explain the culture and tell them how they can be successful within the firm. “The only way to move up is to replace yourself,” Hottman says. “Naturally, all of our associates need to consistently develop their skill and expertise in their specialty field, and each spends at least 80 hours per year in additional classroom training. But they’ve also got to develop their people skills to be able to effectively lead others. That’s why we encourage them to smile and make eye contact with every person they pass in the hallways. That’s the basis of the family feeling we have here, and how we distinguish ourselves from other firms through personal interaction. We tell each new associate from the beginning that EKS&H is not our firm, it’s theirs; we’re just the caretakers. That’s why our young associates instantly feel like they fit in. They feel a part of our family, see a clearly illuminated path for their future, and that’s why they don’t want to leave.”
The number of freshly-minted accounting graduates available for hire is down significantly in recent years, as business students opt for what they may believe is an easier, or a more exciting, or perhaps even a ‘sexier’ career path. Naturally, the battle for the best and the brightest young degreed talent in this industry is fierce.
Accounting grads know they are in high demand as they weigh attractive competing offers from the Big Four firms. So how can a smaller firm get in the game—compete—and actually beat the ‘big boys’ in the war for very best young talent in their industry?
Offering a treadmill and free popcorn won’t hurt, but the real secret might be as simple as a Post-it and a Sharpie.
Would you like to see Eric's newest format of this article? Click here for the video version!
Whys Idea – Contrary to conventional wisdom, fun doesn’t get in the way of productivity, it stimulates it. But hanging a cartoon clipping by the memo board and having an annual holiday party isn’t going to feed the need your teens and twenty-somethings have for entertainment and interactivity at work. You need to take serious steps to provide for employee interaction and engagement on more than just April Fools Day, and that means being the occasional prankster—and even the prankee.
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" Whys
Cracks
BETTER OFF DEAD THAN SICK - Amanda Rouse, 15, a student at Marina High School in Seaside, Calif., felt ill on the bus on the way to school. She asked another bus driver for a ride back toward home. But as the driver rounded a turn, "We hit a bump," Rouse said, and the driver "fell off the seat and down the stairs." The driver had hit her head; the bus was out of control. Rouse, who was sitting behind the driver, "had the quick thinking to jump forward and pull the parking brake" just as the bus careened into two parked cars, a Highway Patrol officer said. None of the 40 or so students on the bus was injured; the driver was taken to a hospital. For her punishment, Rouse must serve a day of Saturday detention. Wait: why punish a hero? School procedure requires that an ill student must call in sick, but Rouse hadn't. (Monterey Herald, Salinas Californian)
The good news is, Amanda has been hired to replace Sandra Bullock in the upcoming movie, SPEED 3.
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Bring
Your A Game...To Work! Update
 The
workplace values training and certification program for teenagers
Eric has been working on for more than three years is currently
in the 'PreLaunch' (beta test) phase. To become certified
as workplace ready and prove to perspective employers they
know how to bring their A Game to the job, teen participants
must read a book, watch two 16-minute videos, and then pass
an exam. (The book is complete, but only currently available
to prelaunch partners). If you'd like a sneak peek at this
new online tool, visit TheAGame.com
and register using your email address and the passcode 'sneakpeak'.
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In
This Issue:
Resources:
| Work is more fun than fun. |
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Noel Coward |
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| The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the humorist makes fun of himself, but in so doing, he identifies himself with people --that is, people everywhere, not for the purpose of taking them apart, but simply revealing their true nature. |
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James Thurber |
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| If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. |
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Katharine Hepburn |
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| People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. |
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Dale Carnegie |
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| You got to like your work. You have got to like what you are doing, you have got to be doing something worthwhile so you can like it -- because it is worthwhile, that it makes a difference, don't you see? |
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Col. Harlan Sanders |
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| At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. |
Jean Houston |
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| In order to survive in these wild times, you’re going to make a total fool of yourself with incredible regularity. If you can’t laugh about it then you are doomed. Humor is the best tool you’ve got to keep your team from going mad. |
Tom Peters |
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| Life is just one long vacation for those who love their work. |
Scott Friedman |
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| If you work on a lobster boat, sneaking up behind someone and pinching him is probably a joke that gets old real fast. |
|
Jack
Handey - Author of Deep Thoughts |
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